View full sizeExpress-Times Photo | COLIN MCEVOYParents and children are seen this afternoon at the Whitehall Township bus stop where an accident occurred earlier that day. Celines Albino, right, hugs one of her grandsons after he exits the bus.

A 5-year-old boy struck by a car in Whitehall Township today as he tried to board a school bus was hit by a driver who did not stop for the bus' stop signs, according to several residents who saw the collision.

The child, a Whitehall-Coplay School District student who has not been identified by authorities, was struck just before 9 a.m. in the 900 block of Fairmont Avenue, according to township police.

The victim was injured, though police could not immediately say how severely. Police did not identify the driver and said no further details would be released amid an ongoing investigation.

Residents waiting at the bus stop with their own children said they witnessed a car driven by a female motorist approach the stopped bus from the opposite lane of Fairmont Avenue, just west of Kay Drive.

The bus had its stop signs deployed and lights flashing, but the car did not stop and struck the child as he was crossing the street, according to Belia Sepulveda, who lives on the block.

The boy was struck by the left side of the car's front bumper, then rolled under the stopped bus, Sepulveda said. He was conscious but bleeding from the head and complaining of hip pain.

"It happened so fast I didn't even see the car coming," said Sepulveda, 27, whose 6- and 7-year-old sons ride the same bus. "The bus had its stop signs out, but the car just kept going. It didn't stop."

School district Superintendent John Corby wouldn't say how the child was doing other than to say he was in an area hospital.

One neighbor said her children attend Steckel Elementary School with the boy, and that the principal informed her he was alert and recovering. A phone message to the school was not immediately returned.

Efforts to reach the boy's family were unsuccessful. Nobody responded when a reporter knocked on their door.

The car that struck the boy stopped a few feet away and the driver got out of the car to check on the child, Sepulveda said.

The posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour, but neighbors said they believed she was going at least 40. Celines Albino, Sepulveda's mother, said speeding is a common problem on the street.

"You can see it right now; none of these cars are going 25," Albino, 42, said as she pointed at passing cars. "It's scary. It could have happened to any of the children here."

Police said an investigation is ongoing and did not provide information about the driver or if charges were pending.

Manuel Madrid, 35, watched the crash occur as he was bringing his 8-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son to the bus stop. His daughter also saw it and started crying, she said.

"Watching that boy get hit, it makes me so nervous," Madrid said. "We have a lot of speeders here."

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OVERTAKING SCHOOL BUS PENALTIES

Pennsylvania law requires a driver following or approaching a school bus with red lights flashing and side arm extended to stop at least 10 feet from the bus and remain stationary until the lights on the bus are turned off or disembarking children have reached safety. The same applies for drivers approaching an intersection with a stopped school bus.

Violators face $355.50 in fines and costs, a 60-day license suspension and five points on their driving record.